 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
But, with every increase in organization, the scope for the power impulse increases, so that power-loving individuals become like the bears who suddenly have access to too much honey, or the savages who are suddenly supplied with whisky. That is why elaborate safeguards in the form of Rights of Man and democratic government become important in highly organized communities.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter 3: Forethought and Skill, n.17
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Power impulses do not occur much when belonging to small organisations. However, the larger the organisation you belong to, the higher your position, the more your power impulses grow. People who were able to see the details of an organisation when they belonged to a small organisation lose sight of the details of the organisation as they move up the ladder in a larger organisation, and there is a danger that they will run amok. Some of the cronies of those in power will give information only to those in power that suits them and use those in power for their own ends.
Trump, who is due to become US President by ‘democratic process’ next January, is a ‘good example of the lust for power maximised’. Russell's following quote can now be savoured with a real sense of reality. 'The most successful democratic politicians are those who succeed in abolishing democracy and becoming dictators.’
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